


Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

by silver_drip



Series: Sexuality and Gender-Identity One-Shots [2]
Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Gender Fluid Character, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-09 19:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4361072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silver_drip/pseuds/silver_drip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is gender fluid. Tony doesn't know what to make of that at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BID](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BID/gifts), [Batwynn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batwynn/gifts).



> Thanks BiD and Batwynn for helping me get my thoughts together on this fic. Hopefully I didn't fuck.
> 
> PS: You're both artists and both your names begin with a B. Clearly you should be friends. If you aren't already, at least.

* * *

 

The thing he liked about Loki is that he never looked the same day to day.

Sometimes he was a she. Sometimes Loki was both. Sometimes Loki was neither.

Tony really didn’t know what to think.

They frequented the same coffee shop.

Usually Tony would just stick to good old fashion black coffee from his own maker, but his lil’ college sophomore intern worked here and Bruce didn’t have a car. Tony had offered to let him just borrow one, but Bruce didn’t even know how to drive. He was a genius with physics, yet couldn’t drive a car. It was adorable. Also, it got Tony out of the lab which got his PA Pepper off his back.

The first time he’d spotted Loki he’d thought she was beautiful, if a bit on the tall side. Those kitten heels weren’t helping either. They only added an inch to her height, but that inch made her tower over almost everyone.

She was slender and Tony guessed she was a dancer by how beautiful and well defined her calves were. Her dress only showed a glimpse of cleavage and billowed out at her waist rather than hips.

Tony’s attention was quickly taken away by a fresh cup of coffee being placed in front of him and he quickly forgot about the lovely woman when Bruce also dropped off an equation on a napkin that he was thinking of.

The next time Tony spotted Loki he didn’t recognize him.

Instead of her locks flowing down just past her shoulders his hair was artfully done up in a bun. He had a lip piercing, but otherwise looked professional in slacks and a white button up. Tony noticed what looked like strange letters on his left wrist, but was too far away to really see them. Once again he was distracted by Bruce, who had just clocked out.

The third time he saw Loki he thought he and she were either doppelgangers or fraternal twins. It piqued his interest and he took note that the man ordered nothing too fancy. He watched as he left, their eyes meeting briefly. Bright and green, very distinct.

After that Tony fell asleep at his table. Coffee didn’t always work.

It was a couple weeks before he saw Loki again.

He looked… frumpy. It wasn’t necessarily a bad look on him.

His hair was in a sloppy bun, glasses slung low on his nose, and he had a baggy sweatshirt on with the local college logo on it, the same one Bruce went to, but Loki looked a bit old to be an undergrad. Instead of ordering coffee he just ordered a scone. Tony saw the same tattoo on his wrist. At that moment he made a connection that the three individuals were really the same person.

Tony let out a startled ‘oh’ and their eyes met again. Loki paused, scone almost to his mouth. He lowered it.

“Problem?” Loki asked firmly, standing in front of him.

“Not in the least.” Tony gave him a charming smile. Loki narrowed his eyes before walking off.

Tony checked out his rear as he left.

A few minutes later Bruce joined him.

“I see you met Loki,” Bruce said while sitting down across from him.

“That’s his name?” Tony asked while sipping at his lukewarm coffee.

“Yup, and I’m pretty sure Loki wasn’t a ‘he’ today.” Bruce glanced at the door when a new customer came in, but one of the baristas was already at the counter. “I can never tell on days like this if he’s both genders or neither.” Tony gave him a confused look. “Loki used to work here. Apparently Loki is gender fluid.”

“I’m going to assume that’s not as dirty as I think it is.” Tony opened his phone and googled the term. “Gender fluid,” he read, “a gender identity which refers to a gender which varies over time. A gender fluid person may at any time identify as male, female, neutrois, or any other non-binary identity, or combination of identities.” Tony paused before putting away his phone. “Thank you Wikipedia.” He mulled that over for a moment. “And how do you know all this?”

“I’m in college. It’s a new age, old man. How do you _not_ know?”

“Hey, don’t call me ‘old man’. I’m only seven years older than you.”

“And how long has it been since you’ve been in college?” Tony scowled at him.

“Not all of us are boring and need to go the ‘traditional’ route.” Before their conversation could resume a few more customers came in and Bruce had to get to work.

* * *

Loki became Tony’s new obsession, somewhat. He only thought of the… individual, he wasn’t really certain what the term was, when Tony was in the coffee shop or driving to it.

Tony had never been attracted to a man before, but Loki wasn’t really a man, only on the outside, except for the days he was. It was all very confusing, but served to keep his interest.

Most people were intolerably boring, but not Loki. Not with his… four seasons. That’s how Tony thought of them, Loki’s different genders. Spring when she was bright and vibrant in dresses. Fall when he was slightly more muted and brisk, but still vibrant. Summer because he looked so damn hot even when in frumpy clothes and as both genders. Winter when he was neither and almost looked androgynist.

Today it was summer.

Loki was in flip flops and Tony was surprised when he didn’t realize how large Loki’s feet where when he first spotted them in kitten heels. Loki was slugging around a backpack. He/she… Tony pulled out his phone and googled it.

There were a lot of invented pronouns.

He chose one of the simpler ones until he could ask Loki their preferred one.

Ze-he/she

Zir-his/her

Zirs-possessive pronoun

Zirself-himself/herself

Easy. Just learning a few new words. Definitely not nuclear physics.

Ze set up a laptop across the shop from him and pulled out a few books. College student then. Probably either a grad our working on zirs doctorate. Tony squinted his eyes, but couldn’t read the book titles from this distance.

Tony wandered over to the counter out of boredom.

“Talk nerdy to me,” Tony grumbled.

“My shift ends in fifteen. Why did you even get here so early? Bird watching?” Bruce glanced in Loki’s direction.

“Ze is not a bird, not today, at least,” Tony said softly.

“True. I see you’ve been using the internet for more than porn.”

“I do have that ability, as demonstrated by my multiple doctorates.” Tony poked at some of the stirring straws and Bruce swatted at his hand.

“Don’t you PhD me.” Bruce’s eyes lit. “A certain someone is working on their PhD.”

“Oh? What on?”

“Why don’t you go ask?”

“Nah, ze seems busy.”

“How considerate of you.” Bruce laughed and Tony smirked. He guessed he wasn’t really known for being considerate. Tony shook his head before returning to his table.

His eyes kept drifting to Loki. Ze was chewing on zirs lip.

Their eyes met again. Loki gave him a curious look and Tony just raised his cup with a smile. Ze just went back to working on zirs laptop.

* * *

Today it was spring.

She looked great in her lavender top and creamed colored dress pants. Her voice was high and sounded natural.

Loki also had someone with her, someone that was holding her hand. He was slender and blonde with a mustache that made him look like a hipster.

Tony gave Bruce a look that clearly said ‘You didn’t tell me Loki was dating anyone’.

Bruce shrugged.

Tony rolled his eyes like a kid.

* * *

It was fall and Loki was a he again, looking sharp as a dagger.

He was set up for another long day of hard work when his cell went off. He had one of those lovestruck grins that made Tony both jealous and nauseous.

He answered the phone, his voice smooth and masculine.

His grin fell away and his shoulders slouched.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice high as a false smile slid onto his face. “How about tomorrow instead?” Loki paused. “Perfect.” Loki clicked his phone off while grimacing. “Asshole.”

Loki stared at his laptop for a moment before slamming it shut. His eyes were watery as he left the coffee shop.

* * *

The next day it was spring and Loki looked decidedly unhappy about that. Ze—because Tony couldn’t refer to Loki as she today, for some reason. Ze hadn’t ordered anything, just waiting at a table with zirs phone held up to zirs face.

Loki was sitting with zirs legs splayed obscenely wide for any gender and Tony did not peek up zirs floral dress. Loki was wearing a headband and ze kept adjusting it with clear annoyance on zirs face.

Bruce went over and gave Loki a free muffin. Ze smiled frailly and said a quick ‘thank you’.

Tony considered going over to Loki, try to distract zir from whatever was on zirs mind, but zirs hipster boyfriend showed up. Loki’s whole posture changed. Ze went from a sulking teenager to a lovely lady in the matter of seconds.

Something seemed inherently fake about it though, nothing like the first time he spotted Loki.

Hipster boyfriend took zirs hand and they walked out, leaving the muffin half finished.

* * *

It was winter and Loki looked just as cold as that season implied.

Tony wondered if being neither gender made zir feel down. Tony felt completely male. He couldn’t imagine being… he didn’t want to say nothing, because being without gender didn’t mean the individual was missing something.

Loki’s green eyes were listless and ze was nibbling on a scone while clicking on zirs laptop. It didn’t look like any real work was getting done. Tony could relate to that. Some nights he didn’t do shit, not even drink.

Tony stood and got a fresh cup of coffee, putting a twenty in the tip jar. Something about Loki being down just drained the energy right out of Tony.

Tony sat back down, lost in his own thoughts. He didn’t realize his eyes were trained on Loki until ze scowled and walked over.

“Why are you always staring at me?” Loki asked, one hand firmly placed on the table as ze leaned over so that they were eye level. Tony refrained from looking down zirs baggy shirt, even though he knew he wouldn’t see cleavage or anything ‘indecent’.

“I’m sorry, what?” He’d really been trapped in his own thoughts.

“I said,” Loki narrowed zirs eyes, “why are you always staring at me?”

“Honestly, you’re just interesting. I’ve never seen anyone like you before.” Tony shrugged.

“So I’m some zoo animal to you?” Tony reeled backwards at the accusation, before it clicked in his mind. Of course ze would be defensive. Ze had probably been made fun of all zirs life, or at least since ze… was the term ‘came out’?

“You’re beautiful. I like looking at beautiful things.”

“So I’m a _thing_ now?” Tony leaned back even further.

“That’s definitely not what I meant. You’re a person, no matter what anyone says.” Tony took a sip of his coffee, trying to ease the tension. Loki seemed to completely deflate.

“Thank you.” Loki turned away and started walking back to zirs table.

“Hey, what are you studying?” Tony asked, if only to prolong the conversation. Loki paused and turned around.

“Engineering.” Loki smiled faintly. Tony smirked in delight.

“If you ever need help in engineering or just want to talk feel free to come over.”

* * *

It was fall and Tony couldn’t look away as Loki played with his lip ring, his pink tongue periodically coming out to flick it. No one should look that good absentmindedly.

Their eyes met and Tony felt like an ass for once again being caught staring.

Loki seemed to pause in thought before glancing at his computer then back over at Tony. He stood up and Tony refrained from raising an eyebrow. Loki came over.

“We never introduced ourselves,” Loki said while sitting across from him. “I’m Loki.”

“Tony.” He wasn’t quite ready to admit that he was the elusive inventor and billionaire Tony Stark. They shook hands.

“So you know about engineering?” Loki asked and Tony couldn’t help but smile.

“I could probably teach a course or two if I wanted to.”

“So modest. Well it was nice to meet you, Tony.”

“Same to you, Loki.”

* * *

It was summer.

Loki was leaning over zirs notes, clearly frustrated. Ze kept tapping zirs chin with zirs pencil, drawing attention to zirs smooth skin.

Tony wanted to bite that pristine skin.

It wasn’t a new urge. It just wasn’t never directed towards someone who was biologically male.

Loki was different though. Tony was physically attracted to zir in all zirs seasons.

Tony finally gave into the urge to go over to zir.

“Anything I can help with?” Tony asked. Loki glanced up at him.

“Know anything about stochastic processes?” Loki had a clear look of challenge on zirs face. Tony loved when people underestimated him.

“Let me see what you’re working on,” Tony said while sitting down. Loki handed over zirs notebook. Tony glanced over it, figuring out most problems in his head. “Fun stuff.” Tony moved his chair over so that he was closer to Loki, placing the notebook in between them. “Problem thirteen is wrong.” Tony leaned a bit closer. “I made this mistake a few times myself…”

It wasn’t till a half an hour later that the pair was pulled out of the magic of math when Bruce’s shift and it was time to head to the lab.

* * *

It was fall.

Tony appreciated how sharp he looked today.

He seemed to be doing fine on his own, so Tony opted not to bother him.

Hipster boyfriend appeared.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Loki. What are you wearing?” he whispered harshly, just loud enough for most of the patrons of the coffee shop to hear.

Loki’s fingers froze over the keyboard before he turned his attention towards douche bag boyfriend.

“Frandral,” Loki said, slinking down in his seat.

“Could you at least pretend to be—” Frandral made a weird hand motion, clearly not knowing what words to use. “God, why do you have to always do this?” He stormed off.

Tony watched Loki for a moment. He looked at his half eaten scone before wrapping it in his napkin and smashing it with both hands. He tossed it in a perfect arc and it landed in the trash. He poked at his coffee lid before sighing and leaving.

* * *

It was spring and Loki was with someone new.

“You look lovely today, Lil’ Loki.”

“Don’t call me that.” The look on her face made it clear that this was an old conversation. “You idiot.”

“When are you going to come visit?”

“When I want to.” Loki brushed her hair over her shoulder. “Besides, _Odin_ is being a prick.”

“He loves you.”

“Oh, thank you for telling me that. I never knew,” Loki said sarcastically. “How is mum?”

“She wants you to come visit,” the bulky blonde said.

“Insistent bastard.”

“How’s life?”

“Livable.”

“Loki.” He was whining.

“Thor.” Loki mimicked his tone perfectly.

They started talking about what present they were going to get their mother and Tony quickly lost interest.

* * *

It was spring again and Tony hadn’t seen her in a week.

“How’s it going?” Tony asked, bringing over a fresh coffee. Tony noticed that Loki liked her coffee a bit sweeter when Loki was a woman. He set down the cup and Loki looked a bit skeptical.

“Trust me. It’s your flavor.”

“I was told to never to take drinks from strange men.”

“Good advice for a lady like yourself.” Tony rethought that. “Good advice for anyone actually.” Tony hadn’t noticed that Loki’s face had lit up until he glanced over at her again. “What?”

“Nothing.” Loki took the drink, sipping at it before cringing. “Too hot.” Tony chuckled.

“Sorry. Is it alright if I sit with you for a while?” Loki shrugged, her eyes fluttering slightly. Her eyelashes looked longer than usual. Mascara.

Tony sat down, swirling his coffee before taking a sip.

“So you and Bruce…” Loki let his sentence trail off and Tony chuckled.

“He’s my intern. He’s a genius in his own right, yet can’t drive worth a damn.” Tony shook his head. “Bruce is a good guy, puts up with my babbling.”

“Where do the pair of you work?”

“A Stark Industries branch, just twenty minutes away.”

“Fancy. I was thinking of getting a job there once I finish my doctorate.”

“It’s a good company to work for. Very inclusive, more than I expected it to be.” Pepper made sure of that. That woman could crack a whip. Actually… she’d make a good CEO.

“Inclusive, hmm. I’ll be the judge of that.” Loki twisted her cup around a few times, staring at it intently. “Why are you even over here, talking to me?” Tony was a bit confused by her question.

“You’re an interesting person. I’m just trying to be friendly, but if I’m bothering you I can go away.” Tony really didn’t like the idea, but he wasn’t one to impose himself on others, unless they were Pepper or Rhodey. Then he was all for imposing.

“I guess you can stay.” Loki shrugged her shoulder delicately and Tony just smiled.

* * *

Seasons passed and Tony found himself hanging out with Loki at least twice a week.

Ze was quick witted and a sarcastic SOB. When Tony wasn’t helping zir on zirs studies they were chatting about just about anything.

Today it was spring.

“And that asshole only likes me when I’m some transvestite freak!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa—slow your roll, Loki.”

“What?” She crossed her arms, they somehow looked petite despite being well defined.

“You know what.” Tony leaned back in his seat, shaking his head.

“I’m allowed to say it—”

“Hell no you’re not.” Tony felt his anger rising, but held it in. “First off, you’re not a freak. Second off, if Frandral doesn’t like such a big part of who you are then he doesn’t deserve any part of you. Also, you don’t get to use the term ‘transvestite freak’ because that means you think people that cross-dress are freaks. What if one of them was around right now, Loki? How do you think that would make them feel?”

Loki pouted for a moment while staring out the window before finally looking over at Tony.

“You’re right,” Loki grumbled and Tony’s face lit up.

“About which part?”

“About me not calling them freaks, or myself for that matter.”

“And what about Frandral?” Loki looked away and began fiddling with her locket.

“He… I likes how he makes me feel.”

“What about when you’re not Lady Loki? Do you like how he makes you feel then?”

“Can we talk about something else?”

“When’s that brother of yours coming back down?”

“Thor?” Loki scoffed. “He comes and goes as he pleases. I was stupid enough to give him a key to my apartment and sometimes he just appears and sleeps on my couch. He lives three hours away. Who does that?”

“Your brother, obviously.”

Loki chuckled under her breath.

“Obviously.”

* * *

It was winter when Loki walked in, almost a month to the day since the day they talked about Frandral.

Loki sat at Tony’s table instead of going to zirs usual one.

“He called me a bitch who didn’t know her place,” Loki said with no preamble.

“That son of a—”

“I broke up with him.”

“Oh, well, good job.”

“You were right about him.”

“I usually am.” Tony winked at zir and Loki rolled zirs eyes while standing up. “Where you going?”

“To class. I saw you and just dropped in.” Loki waved goodbye and Tony felt a bit hopeful.

* * *

Loki seemed the most blasé when ze was neither gender. Most laid back when ze was both. Funniest when he was male. Sassiest when she was female.

Overall, very complex and fun to be around.

Ze was different than anyone Tony ever known and ze was smiling a lot more now that Frandral was out of zirs life. Blushing a lot more too. It didn’t matter the season. Loki always looked cute when ze blushed.

It was spring, but Loki looked uncomfortable in her own skin.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Loki brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. “This isn’t easy for me.” Tony cocked an eyebrow in question. “It isn’t any of my business, but what’s your sexuality?”

“Well I thought I was straight.” Tony shrugged, feeling a bit nervous.

“And?”

“And I don’t know the term.” Tony pulled out his phone. “Let me look it up.” Tony could feel Loki’s eyes on him and he felt his face heating up. “Pansexual.” It sounded like he was attracted to skillets and pots.

“Oh.” Loki blushed.

“And you?”

“Androsexual.”

“Attracted to androids?” Tony joked. Loki let out a little snort.

“Attracted to males.” Loki couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Sounds like we line up perfectly.” Loki’s green eyes lit up and she had a small smile as she looked at him.

“I’m free this Friday night.”

“We going to stick to the stereotype that only males can do the asking out?” Tony was smirking.

“You really are an ass.”

“So this Friday night?” Tony wanted to kiss her.

“Friday night.”


End file.
